All 43 crew from the stricken New Zealand fishing trawler Amaltal Columbia arrived safely on shore Wednesday telling of a "scary" ordeal as a fire swept through their ship.

The crew were forced to take to life rafts in a four-meter swell after the captain gave the order to abandon the ship when hours of trying to contain the early morning blaze proved fruitless.

Seven hours later they were back in New Zealand after being plucked from their life rafts by a Russian trawler Ivan Golubets.

"We're just in shock. I don't really know what to say. I'm just really glad everybody is fine," crew member Louise Kissana told reporters.

"It was scary, you imagine climbing down the side of your ship in the middle of nowhere in rough weather."

Kissana, among the first 39 crew members to arrive at the South Island port of Lyttleton near the city of Christchurch, said it was a relief to see the Ivan Golubets come to their rescue.

"It was one time we were quite thankful to see the Russians coming."

Another crewman, who did not wish to be identified, said they were unable to get the fire under control, no matter how hard they tried.

"We started out fighting the fire with hoses and that sort of stuff and then a few hours into it we had to get into the life rafts," he said.

The Amaltal Columbia was more than 70 kilometers from Christchurch when the fire broke out early Wednesday.

The captain, Chris Patrick, sent out an "urgency call" at 5:24 am which was later upgraded to a "Mayday" as the fire, which started in the stern of the vessel, spread quickly and lost control.